Stadler chooses Threedy’s instant3Dhub as the Foundation for its Enterprise-Wide 3D Platform Strategy – Production as the First Step

Darmstadt, May 21, 2026 – Rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler and software company Threedy have entered a partnership with the goal of establishing a company-wide 3D infrastructure based on instant3Dhub across the entire process chain of Stadler. The collaboration kicks off with implementation in production -a deliberately chosen first step with direct operational value.

“Our biggest challenge to date has been that relevant 3D information from the PLM system was only accessible through complex data processing pipelines – and therefore could not be used consistently across all departments. With instant3Dhub, we now have a solution that addresses precisely this central bottleneck and provides us with the foundation for consistent, company-wide use of 3D data – with the necessary transparency for precise work in production and beyond”, says Marcus de Nardin, Head of IT Engineering at Stadler.

As part of this initial rollout, employees at production kiosks will have seamless access to up-to-date 3D data required for their work steps directly from the PLM system. This allows complex installation scenarios as well as adjacent components and assemblies to be intuitively visualized and better understood. Production thus serves not only as the first use case but also as a validation environment for the envisioned company-wide visual computing infrastructure approach. 

Both companies share the same vision: In the future, 3D data should be available across departments and corporate boundaries, consistently, and without media breaks – regardless of whether it is used in engineering, sales and marketing, manufacturing, or future digital services.

From the perspective of PLM management, the initiative is also an important strategic step:

„We have been dealing with fragmented processes, media discontinuities and isolated data silos around 3D data for a long time. With instant3Dhub, we now have direct, seamless and high-performance access to our central 3D data – including highly complex engineering models – without relying on additional conversion workflows. This establishes a completely new technological foundation for scaling and leveraging 3D data across our long-term PLM and digitalization strategy“, adds Haiko Katter, Head of the PLM Competence Center at Stadler. 

The partnership is based not only on a technological decision but also on a shared promise: to build a scalable and future-proof 3D infrastructure that enables rapid rollouts, ensures direct access to central product data, and simultaneously lays the groundwork for new digital applications across the entire process chain. For this, the existing 3D viewer landscape is also being gradually harmonized.

A central component of this strategy is the technological foundation of instant3Dhub: an infrastructure component that enables the flexible development of new, web-based 3D applications – directly leveraging existing CAD and other 3D data, without additional data pipelines or data copies. This not only allows existing processes and systems to be optimized but also enables the realization of new use cases that were previously not possible from a technical or organizational standpoint.

“Our collaboration with Stadler is a prime example of how strategic digitalization can be successfully implemented. From our initial discussions through to the rollout, the partnership was characterized by openness, a clear focus on goals, and a shared understanding of the long-term value of a harmonized 3D infrastructure. Particularly impressive is Stadler’s forward-looking approach to address this issue across the entire organization”, says Christian Stein, CEO of Threedy. 

With this strategic decision, Stadler is laying the foundation for a sustainable transformation in the handling of 3D data and positioning itself as a pioneer for digital platform strategies and IT harmonization in the industrial sector.